Standing Stones and Archaeology
Scotland has some of the richest Neolithic (late stone age) remains in Europe, a legacy of our ancient ancestors.
There is evidence of permanent human settlement going back at least 8000 years, not long after our last ice age, but it was around 5500 years ago that people first began to start farming. Prior to that hunter gatherers roamed the land in small family groups following the seasons, but with farming came permanent settlements, larger communities and a more organized social hierarchy. This is also when people began to make lasting monuments such as standing stones, stone circles and complex tombs.
Shrouded in mystery these sites are some of the most interesting and atmospheric that you can visit in Scotland. There will always be more questions than answers as they were built long before written history began but we can be sure that these places were of great importance to their builders - the sheer physical effort involved stands testament to this.
From the huge stone circles and perfectly preserved tombs of Orkney such as Maes Howe and the Ring of Brodgar and the 5100 year old village at Skara Brae, to the complex alignments of the Callanish Stones on the Isle of Lewis you will be hard pushed to find finer examples anywhere - it's worth bearing in mind that the majority of these constructions predate the pyramids of Egypt!
Tours which may visit some standing stones:
- 4 Day Skye and Highlands
- 4 Day Oban, Skye & Highlands
- 5 Day Orkney & Highlands
- 6 Day Monster Castle Tour
- 6 Day Hebridean Explorer
- 9 Day Island Hopper
Discover a little more about our Neolithic to Iron Age past:
